Royally Yours: Week in Review

The Kansas City Royals had a bad week losing all six of their games. They have currently lost nine straight. Their last victory was on June 27th against the Milwaukee Brewers. The Royals week started at home against the American League Central leading Cleveland Indians. The Royals offense struggled in the series only scoring an average of three runs per game. The weekend series was at home against the American League East leading Boston Red Sox. The Red Sox offense was a problem for the Royals. The Royals gave up an average of over 10 runs per game. The Royals still have the second worst record in baseball, one better than the Baltimore Orioles.

The Royals bullpen has been one of the worst in baseball this season. They have an ERA of 5.28, second worst behind the Colorado Rockies at 5.32. Hitters are averaging .274 off of the bullpen, which is the worst in the MLB. Wily Peralta appears to be the Royals closer after the trade of Kelvin Herrera earlier in the season. So far this season he has an ERA of 1.35 and two saves. During Saturday’s game the Royals were getting blown out and decided to put in catcher Drew Butera. He finished the inning but gave up two earned runs. It was his first pitching appearance since 2016. The bullpen has been a big source of the problems for the Royals this season.

Photo by; Fox Sports

Mike Moustakas has been the target of many different trade rumors so far this season. The Philadelphia Phillies and St. Louis Cardinals are rumored to be interested in him at third base. The New York Yankees have allegedly been interested in him as a first basemen. Moustakas does not have a lot of playing time at first but the Royals have been using him more at the position. The Royals appear to be giving him every opportunity to impress a team interested in him this season.

Alcides Escobar lost his consecutive games started streak on Sunday. The streak was up to 421, it was the longest active streak in the MLB. Escobar was a reliable defender all over the field but struggled offensively. This season he has a .194 batting average. Despite his defensive success the Royals had to bench Escobar because of his offensive performance.

The Royals will start a six game American League Central road trip on Monday. They start the week against the Minnesota Twins. The Royals are 2-1 against the Twins this season. Salvador Perez will be a player to watch in the series. He has a career .349 batting average and 14 home runs in 55 games at Target Field. The weekend series will be against the Chicago White Sox. It is the final series before the All-Star Break. The Royals are 2-5 against the White Sox this season. Mike Moustakas will be a player to watch in the series. He has a .353 batting average and one home run against the White Sox this season. This week will have two good matchups against division opponents.